


This Love We Have

by quixhaotic



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Mafias, Angst, Blood and Violence, Bottom Wen Jun Hui | Jun, Cop! Wen Junhui, Explicit Sexual Content, Gangs, Gun Violence, Heavy Angst, M/M, Mafia heir! Xu Minghao, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prostitution, Rape, References to Drugs, Sexual Violence, Smut, This is gonna be nasty, Threats of Violence, Top Xu Ming Hao | The8, Violence, mafia, mentions of drug use, other ships will be included in this fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2020-02-27 16:56:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18743188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quixhaotic/pseuds/quixhaotic
Summary: When Minghao betrayed him, Junhui swore to himself never to give too much trust to anyone ever again. The world is a cruel place, and you don't have anyone else to watch your back but yourself. Junhui has realized the harsh reality that out there, it's every man for himself.Junhui has realized, but it seems like he never learned.[Or the one where Junhui gets his heart broken and his pride trampled by Xu Minghao, and what's worse is he cannot stop the same thing from happening all over again despite his efforts.]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Anon asked:
> 
> I need junhao angst 😭 something like what happened to us from jhopefulyoongi. Jun gets really hurt (emotionally/physically) because of minghao but hao just simply doesnt care. Jun get really mad at hao and do something drastic so hao beg for his forgiveness. Buuuuut, begging for forgiveness isnt easy, it tooks months for jun finally forgive him c:
> 
> -I'm not sure which fic by jhopefulyoongi anon is referring to so I just followed the idea he/she gave me and came up with this. Idk how this fic will turn out so I'm crossing my fingers on this one.
> 
> Just a few reminders:  
> 1\. It's gonna be nasty  
> 2\. It's gonna be angsty  
> 3\. It's gonna be a mess since I'm not such a good writer :/
> 
> So please don't expect too much from this fic and read it at your own risks. Thank you and have a good day! :D

Junhui’s hand visibly trembles against the gun he’s holding, which is something entirely new. He never hesitated before, never even flinched when he held the metallic weapon for the first time. But tonight is an exception, something he _never_ saw coming.

 _“Officer Wen? Status report.”_ Junhui flinches, the volume of his earpiece suddenly too loud, though it doesn’t compare to the loudness of his erratic heartbeat. He swears he could feel his own heart about to pop off his chest in a few seconds, and no matter how much he wills himself to calm down no single muscle in his body would cooperate.

“No, everything’s clear.” He grits his teeth and closes his eyes, but he does not lower his weapon, only tightens his grip around it until the trembling of his hands is more than visible.

“Target escaped. The building’s empty.” He says under his breath and hears the voice from the other line order him and the rest of his team to report back immediately, and though he said yes his body doesn’t want to move just yet.

He takes off the earpiece he’s been wearing for the past two hours and turns it off, tucking it inside the small pocket in his bullet proof vest.

He straightens his stance and looks ahead, stares back at the man sitting comfortably behind his desk in a leather swivel chair. His eyes sting with what he recognizes as tears, but he doesn’t allow himself to cry. He mustn’t.

“Junnie—“

“Fuck you.” He seethes, unable to neutralize the bubbling anger inside him that’s threatening to spill out and turn into physical violence any moment. The nickname makes him feel bile rise up his throat, which is another new thing for tonight since he always _always_ loves the way it rolls out of the man’s lips. His whole body shakes with the intensity of his rage and he can’t help it as he glares sharply at the sole cause of it.

“Watch your fucking mouth—“

“Soonyoung,” Junhui barely registers the name and face of the person standing beside the man in the desk, his own weapon pointed at Junhui’s skull.

“Leave us.”

“But sir—“

“Leave.” The man in the desk commands, an air of finality in his tone. The Soonyoung guy looks back and forth between his boss and Junhui, uncertainty written across his face. He leaves anyway, probably too scared to disobey his master.

Silence once again fills the room, silence so thick that it’s making Junhui feel like breathing is such a hard task. But he doesn’t let it get to him, weapon still pointed directly at the man’s skull, though it’s clear as daylight that he had put a distance between his index finger and the trigger. _A sign of weakness, a weapon that can be so easily used against him._ He had already been weak when he lied about the building being empty, and now he’s making things worse for himself.

“Junhui—“

“Fuck you, Minghao. Fuck you.” Junhui seethes again, adjusting his grip on his gun as well as his stance. When Minghao attempts to stand from his seat Junhui nearly loses it.

“STAY WHERE YOU FUCKING ARE!!!”

“Jun, calm down.” Junhui lets out a short laugh that’s anything but humorous.

“Calm down? Calm _the fuck_ down?” Minghao doesn’t say anything in return, but Junhui could clearly see the way his jaw clenches.

“You expect me to calm down after discovering that _my boyfriend_ is a part—no— _the heir_ of the goddamn mafia I’ve spent nearly three fucking years chasing after?” Junhui finally lowers his gun, his other hand coming up to swipe at his face in frustration. He closes his eyes shut when he feels the tears coming back again. He’s not gonna cry, he mustn’t cry. He already feels so weak and stupid at the moment, and the tears will only make it worse.

“Un-fucking-believable.” He says more to himself, letting out a short and airy chuckle. Minghao takes a risk and finally stands up from his seat. Junhui opens his eyes immediately at the sound of Mignhao’s footsteps approaching, lifting his gun to point at the other male’s chest.

“Don’t come any closer, Minghao.” He warns, but it seems like Minghao doesn’t have any plans to listen to him. He continues to walk towards him, his face a blank slate.

“I said don’t come any closer!” He’s screaming now, and despite being loud it had sounded so weak to his ears, more of a plea than a command. He hates it, absolutely despises himself for being so weak.

One moment he has his gun pointed at Minghao, the next is he finds himself slammed against the wall behind him. He no longer has his weapon, realizing a second too late that Minghao had disarmed him and threw the gun across the room way too far from his reach.

When he tries to move his head he feels something cold and sharp against the skin of his neck. Minghao is holding a knife to his throat, and he is utterly dumbfounded.

“It’s useless to fight me, Jun.” Minghao whispers, but it was loud enough for Junhui to hear.

“And I don’t wanna hurt you.” The other male admits, though Junhui—for the first time—is doubting his sincerity.

No one can blame him, he just found out that the man he’s been dating for almost a year now is the same man who is next in line to inherit and rule the mafia he’s been trying to track down and destroy ever since he became a cop.

As if on cue, certain memories began flashing through his mind; memories of him and Minghao together, particularly the ones where they cuddled in Junhui’s couch on the weekends as Junhui discussed his plans and strategies to track Minghao’s mafia down. He and the entire police organization has been an open book to the enemy all this time, and he didn’t even know. He lets out a shaky breath as he closes his eyes. His limbs no longer tense, a sign of defeat.

“You already did, Hao.” He whispers and stops himself from breaking down in front of the person he now considers his enemy. He could feel Minghao lower the blade that he held against his throat. A few beats of silence engulfed them. When he opens his eyes what he first sees is Minghao’s unreadable expression as he openly stares at Junhui. It’s unlike any of the facial expressions he has worn around the cop whenever they were together. It’s cold, too distant, too foreign that has Junhui momentarily doubting if the man standing in front of him really is Minghao.

“Why?” He dares to ask when the silence became too much. Minghao takes a step back and settles by the desk, leaning his body against it casually with an unwavering composure like this is just another normal conversation for him.

“Why, you ask?” Minghao says, grabbing a box of cigarettes from his table. Junhui’s eyes widened when he saw the familiar logo printed on the box. It’s the logo of the Hans, a supposedly dead underground organization that operates by selling drugs and mixing them on other products such as cigarettes and expensive liquor. The fact that Minghao is using something by the Hans makes Junhui conclude that the police failed to completely extinguish yet another drug syndicate. Their chief would not be so pleased if he finds out that Han Min Woo’s illegal business didn’t completely succumb despite finally putting the old criminal behind bars just a few months ago.

“Thought you wouldn’t notice.” Minghao tauntingly waves the box of cigarettes at Junhui.

“Unfortunately for your little army of ‘good-willed citizens’, the Hans thrived. They’ve learned to be more careful now, though. You won’t get to catch them easily like how you did last time.” That teasing smirk, _god,_ how Junhui wanted to wipe it off Minghao’s face. He hates it now, the facts finally sinking in and making him see red.

“Now, to answer your question,” Minghao says as he pulls out a cigarette from the box and brings it up to his lips. He pulls out a lighter from his pocket and lit up the end of the cigar. He breathes out a puff of smoke at Junhui’s direction, and the cop holds his breath for a bit and frowns, not just because he didn’t like the smell but because Minghao _knew_ he didn’t like the smell and is obviously provoking him.

“You were just supposed to be a one night stand, Jun.” Minghao juts out his lower lip, having the audacity to look at Junhui as if he’s something disappointing.

“It was supposed to be a one-time thing, but then you started babbling about being a cop and your obsession with _my empire._ ” Junhui closes his eyes as he recalled the first time he met Minghao. It was a typical first encounter at a random night club, and they immediately clicked as soon as a few words were exchanged. Junhui had no idea back then about how big of a mistake it was to let Minghao into his life. He breathes out shakily, his whole body trembling a bit with so much frustration.

“Of course I had to use you.” Use. Minghao _used_ him. The worst part of it all is that he never felt it because everything he had with the other male had felt so real, leaving no room for doubts.

“You helped me stay clear from the local police without me having to ask for it.” The way Minghao chuckled made Junhui’s skin crawl. He eyes his gun that Minghao threw earlier, just a few feet away from him. He could make it—

“Don’t even bother, Jun.” Minghao warns, the chuckle gone but there was a glint of playfulness in his eyes as he eyes Junhui. It triggers something in Junhui, and he never saw it coming. One moment he’s looking at the eyes of the man that betrayed him and the next thing is he’s already feeling hot tears stream down his face.

 _Fuck,_ he thinks. He’s already in such a weakened state and the tears only made it worse. He tried to even his breathing and stop the flow of the tears but he ends up putting a hand over his mouth to muffle down a sob.

His chest hurts. Everything hurts, he feels like his head’s spinning a bit. Minghao didn’t just break his heart, he stepped on Junhui’s pride as well. There aren’t enough words to describe what Junhui feels right now. He’s hurt, angry, and embarrassed to say the least, and he’s probably one step closer to breaking down which is not really the most ideal option in the moment.

Minghao just watches his futile attempts to stop crying while he continued smoking his cigarette. They look at each other in silence, the only sound that can be heard were Junhui’s occasional muffled sobs.

“Sir,” They both turn towards the direction of the door. Soonyoung was back, looking at Junhui with a calculative gaze though he was talking to Minghao. He held his gun down but his index finger was already at the trigger, and all that he needed to do was to point and shoot if something ever goes wrong.

“Your father requests your presence.” He says formally as he looks at Junhui. He furrows his brows a bit when he realizes that the cop was crying, weaponless and basically defenseless in his current state. He studies the man curiously, though he doesn’t utter a word.

“I’ll be there.” Minghao calmly says, and Soonyoung nods before taking his leave. With all honesty he’s not really that okay with the idea of leaving his boss in the same room with a cop, but he trusts Minghao enough to be able to take care of himself.

“Well then, Jun,” Minghao stands properly and disposes his cigarette in the ash tray. He straightens up and looks at Junhui, face void of any emotion.

“I’ll get going now.” He calmly says and starts walking towards the direction of the door. Junhui grits his teeth. He’s not gonna let Minghao get away from him and everything else just like that.

He picks up his gun and points it at Minghao’s back, and this time he has his finger on the trigger. A breathy exhale escapes his lips, and Minghao stops dead on his tracks but doesn’t turn around to face him. Junhui trembles a bit and takes a step closer, the tip of his gun touching Minghao’s nape. The other male doesn’t even flinch and he hates it, hates how unaffected Minghao is.

“Hands where I can fucking see them, Zhang Minghao.” He orders firmly, though his voice sounded weak even to his ears. He hears Minghao chuckle before doing as he says, slowly raising his hands up.

“Now get on your knees.” Another chuckle came from Minghao, and before Junhui could even tell him to shut up the other male suddenly turned around faster than he could blink. He pulls out a knife out of nowhere and Junhui wasn’t even able to react when he feels the sharp blade slice through his right arm.

He screams in pain and drops his gun, a fucking huge mistake. He watches with wide eyes as the weapon lands on the floor and the next thing he sees is himself stumbling backwards until his back against the table. He notes the pain in his arm where Minghao had cut him. There’s also the pain in his stomach where Minghao had kicked him.

The other male just shrugs like it’s nothing, adjusting his suit and closing some of the buttons. He turns towards the door and opens it. Junhui grunts and calls for his name uselessly. He tries to stand but his whole body hurts like he just got run down by a truck. All those years of training as a cop proven useless within just a few seconds by Minghao who seemed like he didn’t even bat an eyelash when he took Junhui down.

“By the way Jun,” Minghao says.

“It’s Xu Minghao.” He gives Junhui one last smile before leaving the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Junhui is barely recovering from everything when he's suddenly assigned to a new mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I would like to thank those who have given me feedbacks both on the comment section and on my curious cat account!♥️ They're all highly appreciated and I'm so glad that a lot of you are looking forward to this fic.
> 
> With regards to the tags (many reacted on cc bcoz of the 'Rape' tag), there are possibilities that they may change or I may add more tags in the future to accommodate my plot. Btw, the plot's still shaking that's why I'm still a bit nervous about how this fic will turn out😔 But rest assured I'll do what I can to give all of you acceptable content😀
> 
> Also, whenever shit's about to go down in some chapters I'll make sure to put up warnings and reminders because I know not all of you are comfortable with reading such contents🙂 You could either skip the whole chapter or read at your own risks.
> 
> That would be all for now, and happy reading everyone!💕💕💕

_An injury is much sooner forgiven than an insult. –Lord Chesterfield_

 

* * *

 

“Junhui,” he looks up to the person staring at him with a look on his face that screams worry. He doesn’t say anything, just stares back blankly like a lifeless doll.

“I need you to listen carefully, take these antibiotics thrice a day—” he takes the bottle of medicine from the doctor, notes the feeling of the other man’s skin against his. It’s really cold, but not in a strange way, not in a way that he currently feels.

He lowers his eyes to where his other hand rests on top of his thigh, and he starts to aimlessly rub circles against the fabric of his jeans with his thumb. The sound of the doctor’s voice seemed too distant and muffled for him to comprehend, but he doesn’t comment about it.

There’s a knock on the door and the doctor stands up and opens it, since Junhui looks like he’s practically glued to his seat with his head hung low. He hears a familiar voice call for his name, and he looks up to see one of the last persons he wants to see right now.

“Hyung,” he says, voice raspy since he hasn’t been talking for the past five hours. It should be a good thing since everyone around him always think that he talks too much, but with the way Seungcheol is looking at him with a worried expression, it’s most likely the other way around. Now he wants the older male gone as soon as he came.

Seungcheol doesn’t reply and takes the seat in front of Junhui. The doctor also settles into his own seat behind his desk with a short grunt, and Seungcheol listens to the man’s instructions instead because Junhui just looks so out of it. He occasionally glances at Junhui as he takes in every reminder and instruction, and after a few more minutes they’re already out the door and headed towards the hospital’s parking lot.

Seungcheol gives Junhui the rest of his medications, and Junhui accepts them with slightly trembling hands, tucking them inside his small shoulder bag. The older male shakes his head as he takes in the sight of his dongsaeng: utterly devastated.

He knows he can’t do much about it, since Junhui has always been one who likes to deal with problems on his own despite having the appearance of a completely dependent child. It’s just that the sight upsets him. In the three long years he has known the younger male, he had never seen Wen Junhui so broken before.

“Where do you wanna have dinner?” Seungcheol asks for the sake of starting a conversation, but Junhui doesn’t say anything. It’s as if he didn’t even hear him speak. He just continues to walk towards Seungcheol’s car like a hovering ghost, eyes trained on the concrete like his neck is permanently bent down to the certain angle.

“Junnie,” Seungcheol tries the second time, and once again he’s ignored. Junhui stops beside the car’s door to the shotgun seat. Seungcheol unlocks the vehicle and Junhui slips into the seat like a slug. He straps his own seatbelt on at a very slow pace and doesn’t say anything when Seungcheol refused to start the car.

“Talk to me, Junhui.” The older male says, the demand in his tone weaker than usual.

“Just take me home, hyung.” The Chinese male says, his voice so weak that Seungcheol hesitates for a bit because he isn’t sure if he heard it right.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay alone?” Seungcheol asks, and Junhui looks back at him with a very tired expression. Both of them know the answer to that question, and Seungcheol now mentally scolds himself for even asking. They both know what happened, and they both know it’s going to take a lot for Junhui to be really okay again.

“Yes,” Junhui answers anyway, a big fat lie. He adjusts the seatbelt strap around him and looks ahead, and Seungcheol could clearly see the tears he’s trying so hard to hold back.

“Tell Jongin-hyung I’ll be back tomorrow.”

•••

As soon as Junhui steps into his apartment, his phone vibrates in bis pocket. He picks it up and looks at the called ID, winces involuntarily when he realizes it’s his mom. He dwells for a bit whether he should answer the call or leave it to ring until he misses the call, but decides on answering it anyway.

“Mom,” Junhui says, trying to sound at least a bit more cheerful than how he currently feels.

(How are you, son?) His mother’s kind voice rips through the speaker and into his heart, and Junhui feels like falling into the floor and letting out an ugly sob. He leans his body back against the door for support, and he tries his best to ignore the tears that are starting to stream down his face.

“I’m fine,” There’s a soft thud when he falls down the floor, his knees finally giving up their support. He hugs his legs close against his chest and curls up pathetically, listening as his mother starts rambling about how perfect her day had been. He couldn’t even bring himself to be happy for her, crying silently as his mother continues talking without a single clue about his current situation.

Listening to the woman talk, his mind wanders to some of the what ifs he has in his life. What if he stayed in Shenzhen? What if he became a doctor instead, just like what his parents wanted? What if he didn’t become a cop? What if he never met Minghao?

His body trembles with a newfound rage when he thinks about Minghao. He couldn’t even begin to describe the emotions the other male stirred inside him when he revealed himself as the man Junhui had always sought to strike down.

He looks at his right arm, cleanly bandaged and beginning to heal. He could still feel the throbbing pain from where Minghao pierced through his skin with a knife, though probably nothing hurts more than the pain of his chest as he thinks of how Minghao had played him.

Without so much of a warning he cuts the phone call short and turns his device off. He can’t really bear everything at once right now and he just wants to go to bed and sleep forever. His mother would probably understand.

With shaky limbs he tries to get up and wobbles his way towards his bedroom. He throws his seemingly lifeless body on the mattress and falls face first, inhaling the scent of bedsheets that haven’t been washed for almost two weeks now.

“Damn it,” a new batch of tears fall from his eyes when he identifies his and Minghao’s perfume mingling with the scent of his laundry detergent in the sheets, tangible proof that he had let a criminal into his life like a total idiot and let him walk away like an even bigger idiot.

“Goddammit.”

•••

True to his word, Junhui did go to work the next day, practically forcing himself out of bed and into the shower. He puts on his uniform with an almost permanent frown, thinking he doesn’t deserve to wear such outfit. He had let one of the biggest criminals in Asia slip away and he still calls himself a cop.

Heads and eyes turn to look at him when he passes down the corridor. He doesn’t mind them that much, he knows he’s probably gonna do the same if he sees a man looking so wrecked pass by him. He doesn’t reply to morning greetings like he usually does with his cheerful and happy voice, and the whole floor falls silent because it’s definitely the first time they’ve seen bright and optimistic Wen Junhui looking like he has the world upon his shoulders.

Before going to his own office, he proceeds to Jongin’s first, since earlier this morning he got a text from the man saying that he would like to have a word with him. He enters the room unceremoniously, and Jongin looks up at him from under his glasses.

“You look like shit.” Jongin says without hesitation as he scans Junhui from head to toe. Though it was meant to be an insult it had sounded gentler than intended. So Jongin knows what went down as well before he could even tell the man personally. Great. Soon enough the whole building will probably know how much of a failure he is and he really doesn’t wanna think about it right now.

“Gee, thanks.” He takes the seat in front of the other male’s desk and looks down at the stack of papers Jongin has next to his laptop. The other male continues typing down on his laptop, giving Junhui curious glances from time to time.

“How’s your arm?” Jongin asks.

“Healing,” he provides shortly. And just like that the pain in his arm is demanding to be felt again. He winces visibly and feels the urge to put a hand over the bandaged wound, though he knows that would only make things worse.

“How’s your heart?” Junhui glares at the other male.

“Hyung—”

“Hurts like a bitch, right?” Jongin chuckles in a humorless manner, and Junhui couldn’t bring himself to talk back. It’s a sensitive topic, and between them he knows Jongin is the more affected one.

Rumor goes around the building that Jongin fell in love with a criminal just like he did, and though the other male confirmed it to him once he was never given the details. The only thing that makes their stories different is that the person Jongin loves is dead now, killed by the cop himself.

“You’ll get over it eventually. Life goes on, Junhui. Remember that.” Junhui nods a bit absentmindedly. That’s the second time Jongin has told him the exact same thing. The first was when he made an error when he made his very first police report. It wasn’t much, but back then he had felt like the shittiest cop to ever exist. Jongin was the first to see him sulking behind his desk and comforted him.

It had worked before, but he’s not sure if it’s gonna work now. After all, heartbreak is far more worse than paperwork error.

“What if I don’t get over it, hyung?” He asks, voice low and sounding so unsure of himself. Jongin momentarily stops typing on his laptop but after three seconds of silence he continues with the task at hand looking the least bit affected if Junhui didn’t notice how his brows furrowed a bit.

“That’s why I called you over. That folder’s for you.” Jongin gestures at a white folder next to the stack of papers in his desk. Junhui cautiously looks back and forth between Jongin and the folder before deciding to pick it up. He opens it and his eyes immediately scan the whole memo. A few seconds later his eyes widened and he looks at his senior like a child who’s being told suspense stories.

“No way.” He breathes, still finding the news too hard to believe.

“A small thank you would suffice,” Jongin smirks at him, and he furrows his brows. He’s starting to get a weird feeling about all of this.

“Hyung, I—I couldn’t possibly—thank you is not—I don’t know what this means.” Junhui stammers as his eyes go over the file once again.

He doesn’t know how Jongin did it, but he suddenly has two weeks for himself to take a break. He frowns upon figuring out the possible reasons why the older male came up with giving him such a long break.

“Hyung, I’m gonna be fine—”

“I figured you’d say that.” Jongin smirks at him, but he couldn’t see humor in the man’s eyes. He relaxes a bit, realizing the two weeks worth of break must be for a bigger reason and not just for giving him more time to nurse his broken heart.

“I’m assigning you to a different case Junhui. It’s not gonna be like the usual, since it’s going to be an undercover one.” Junhui scoffs at this. He used to believe undercover operations were cool just like in the movies. But with Seungcheol making him realize it’s far from that after experiencing everything firsthand, he has lost the ambition of ever taking up those kinds of missions.

“Hyung, why me? We have people who are more experienced for these types of things and l—”

“Please read the file again, Junhui. You probably missed a page.” Jongin urges him and he wordlessly obeys. He scans the papers once again and sure enough, he did miss a page. His eyes widened when he read the content.

“We have a lot of experienced men in here, but none are as pretty as you. I hope you’ll take no offense in that.” Jongin smiles at him sheepishly, and Junhui suddenly wants melt like candle wax.

Jongin wants him to work on Park Chanyeol’s case for crying out loud. He hasn’t even accepted yet and now he wants to back out, but he knows Jongin wouldn’t take no for an answer, determination blazing in his eyes.

•••

“’None are as pretty as you’? Wow, I am deeply and truly offended.” Junhui couldn’t bring himself to laugh at Yoon Jeonghan’s little joke. He just continues to stuff his face with the cheap instant ramen he bought from the convenience store across the street. The food is still hot and burns his tongue, but he eats fast anyway, as if the pain is encouraging him.

Jeonghan looks at him with worry, Junhui’s aware of that even though he isn’t looking at the other male. Nobody is used to seeing him this down and quiet, that’s why he’s been receiving curious and worried glances throughout the day. When they’d ask him what’s wrong he’d excuse himself, still not ready to open up about everything that happened a few nights ago.

“You’re taking it?” Jeonghan asks, pertaining to the new mission assigned to Junhui. He asks even if he already knows the answer, because just about half an hour ago Junhui is already fixing his own desk, given barely two days to ‘disappear’ and assume a new identity.

“No one says no to Jongin.” Junhui quotes Hong Jisoo, Jongin’s second in command. Jeonghan nods at him and looks down into his own sad meal of bland dumplings.

“Who’re you gonna be partners with?” He asks again while picking the said dumplings with a pair of wooden chopsticks. He lifts one up to his lips and takes a bite, wincing afterwards because it has to be the worst dumpling he has ever tasted in his whole life. He puts the chopsticks down and discreetly pushes his lunch box to the side.

“I don’t know. I’m probably gonna go alone.” Junhui says honestly, and Jeonghan gives him a weird look.

“Are you sure you have any idea what you’re getting yourself into, Junhui?” Junhui stops chewing his ramen and looks at Jeonghan straight in the eyes. The older male flinches at how lifeless the eyes of his dongsaeng looks, and what’s worse is he cannot even comfort him because he has no clue what happened. All that he knows—like the rest—is that Junhui was one of the cops sent in to raid a building that’s said to be one of the territories of the Xu Clan, and that the dispatched team went back empty-handed. He’s aware that there’s more to the story but he couldn’t bring himself to ask Junhui despite curiosity chewing his insides.

“Of course hyung. In the next few days I’m gonna be a prostitute and spread my legs for the target, gain his trust, gather intel and take some bad guys down.” Jeonghan nearly chokes on his cola at what Junhui said.

“You talk about it like it’s not lewd and nasty at all.” The older male glares at him like he’s a child saying a bunch of bullshit. Well, he’s not gonna deny the bullshit part, but he’s not a child anymore. He knows what he’s getting himself into and he doesn’t have any plans on backing down.

Why? Because he’s a man of justice, and if this is the only way he’s gonna be able to help achieve peace for the country then so be it. Besides, Jongin had told him that it’s either he accepts the mission or he’s going to be assigned to a lot of paperwork because he’s clearly too devastated to keep working on the Xu Clan case, and boy does he despise paperwork.

Not only is it boring, but it also gives him a lot of time to think. And right now, he wants to be distracted more than anything else. We all know why.

“Stop worrying hyung,” Junhui pats the older male’s shoulder while sporting one of the fakest and most miserable smiles Jeonghan has ever seen in his life.

“I know what I’m doing.”

•••

Junhui eyes the small white envelope on the floor that somebody must’ve slipped under his door. He looks around the empty hallway and was greeted with nothing but silence. He gets inside his apartment and closes the door behind him. Picking up the small envelope, he makes his way towards his small kitchen to get a glass of water.

He opens the envelops and finds a small piece of folded paper inside with a short message.

‘Hey partner. Let’s meet up and get to know each other! Room 406.’

Junhui wants to smack his own face with his hand but doesn’t and chooses to groan out loud instead. He already knows who his partner for the mission is based on the man’s handwriting and his method of leaving the message. Anyone else could’ve been better but it’s not like he has a lot of options here, so with another groan he gets out of his apartment and uses the stairs to go to the fourth floor of the building.

Room 406 wasn’t that hard to locate, and Junhui knocks thrice at the wooden door then proceeds to wait patiently, clutching the small envelope in his hand tightly.

He almost jumps on his heels when the door swings open and he is greeted with a wide grin and a set of perfectly white and sparkly canine teeth.

“Hello J—”

“It’s Petal from now on, Kim Mingyu. Pe-tal.” He barges into the room and pushes the taller male aside who grunts a bit at the impact. He settles himself on the couch as Mingyu locks the door behind him and tales a seat next to him.

“Does Wonwoo even know about this?” Junhui asks as soon as Mingyu turns to him.

“Yep. He doesn’t really mind. In fact, he’s pretty pleased that my partner is gonna be his best friend!” Junhui rubs his temples. He’s not really in the mood to deal with such a cheerful guy right now, with a storm cloud practically looming above his head and all. Mingyu’s bright smile makes his head ache, and he’s already regretting accepting this mission.

“So, I’m gonna be your personal bodyguard—”

“I already read everything, Gyu.” Junhui frowns at the taller male who just grins back at him. He looks away because he swears he’s gonna smack that grin off the guy’s face soon.

He’s gonna be an undercover prostitute for the mission. Not exactly the most ideal role to play, but Junhui’s in no position to be picky right now. Mingyu on the other hand, is gonna be one of the three undercover securities working in Park Chanyeol’s infamous night club called Eclipse. The other two have been sent in beforehand because dropping all four of them at once might raise suspicions.

Eclipse is a well-known gay club in Busan which operates mainly by selling prostitutes to those who could afford them. It’s been operating for five years already, tons of people flocking to the place to find pleasure, entertainment and good drinks, the main services offered by the club.

The police don’t have their eyes set on Park Chanyeol, but rather the certain people who frequent the Eclipse. Some of them are said to be high-profiled syndicates that the police would like to get their hands on, but before that could happen intel must be gathered first. That’s where Junhui and Mingyu come into the picture. They’re tasked to gather whatever intel they could get their hands on and report them back to the main office so they could gain an edge and figure out how to take these certain people down.

He and Mingyu have been given three months to accomplish their mission, which in Junhui’s opinion and calculations is more than enough. It’s his second time doing something undercover so he’s not completely clueless about how things should work.

Junhui stops thinking for a but when he hears Mingyu snicker next to him. He gives the man a questioning look.

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that—pfft—Petal? Lol.” Mingyu chuckles even louder, not even bothering to hide how entertained he is despite knowing that Junhui could crush him like a pulp right now if he wants to.

About the Petal thing, Junhui came up with it. He’s learned that the prostitutes being sold in Eclipse go by nicknames, and Jongin asked him to decide on one as soon as he can. He chooses Petal for no concrete reason. It wasn’t such a big deal, until Mingyu starts laughing at it. Now he just wants to hide in a corner out of embarrassment.

“What would Minghao even think when he hears this?” Junhui halts when the question leaves Mingyu’s mouth. The other male doesn’t notice immediately and continues to laugh, but when he sees Junhui go stiff next to him his laughter dies down.

“Did I say something wrong? I’m sorry,” Mingyu was quick to apologize like he always does, looking at Junhui with sad eyes that reminds him a lot of a dejected beagle. He puts a hand over Junhui’s shoulder when Junhui doesn’t say anything, squeezing it lightly in an attempt to offer comfort.

“Jun—”

“Let’s make an agreement never to talk about Minghao again, okay?” Junhui immediately says, hating how his voice cracked pathetically at the end of the sentence. He closes his eyes and lets out a shaky breath, once again being the weak little thing that he is. He clenches his fists on his sides and wills himself to calm down. And there’s the pain on his right arm asking for attention again. He should really buy painkillers. Or better yet, he should really stop being overly dramatic.

“What? Why?” Mingyu asks, and Junhui hates how clueless he is right now. It’s not like he wants a lot of people to know about how Minghao fooled him, it’s just that he doesn’t have energy to spare explaining everything.

“Did you guys break up?” The question stirs something in Junhui and soon enough he finds himself crying, his body shaking as if cold wind blew at him. Mingyu panics and puts his arms around Junhui immediately. He brings the Chinese male’s head close against his chest and shushes him. With his other hand he reaches for his pocket and decides to call Wonwoo for help, but then he remembers that this is supposed to be some secret meeting between him and Junhui alone. He drops his phone on the couch and tightens his hold around his weeping friend.

Quiet sobs and whimpers leave Junhui’s lips occasionally, and Mingyu starts rocking their bodies on the couch gently while humming a random tune softly.

Junhui closes his eyes, and he’s greeted with the countless memories of Minghao’s smiles that used to light up his world like some fucking awesome magic spell. He clenches his fists against Mingyu’s shirt and sobs, hating himself more and more for falling for the wrong man and loving him so much with an intensity so strong it takes over his body most of the time. He’s mad at Minghao alright, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love the man anymore.

He doesn’t even know how he’s gonna get over it, or if he’s ever gonna get over it.

Probably not.

What Minghao did was beyond his forgiveness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What are your thoughts about this chaper? Please share them with me in the comment section or in my twitter cc account @incorrectjunhao🙏🏻 
> 
> I'll try my best to reply to all of them so I could know your sides regarding the events of this fic.
> 
> Good day!💕💕


	3. Chapter 3

_By audacity great fears are concealed.—Lucan_

* * *

 

Junhui opens his door to find a familiar face standing outside, expression that of a worried mother towards her child. Junhui softens at the sight and gestures the person inside his apartment.

 

“Jongin never told me he’d send you in.” Junhui hates how he had already set his mind into his new mission but then starts to have second thoughts as soon as Jisoo opens his mouth to speak. He sighs and gives his senior a tired look, not really wanting to argue with him.

 

His mission officially starts in five hours. Mingyu’s gonna come pick him up and they’re gonna take a train to Busan together. Though the taller male advised him to get some rest, sleep just wouldn’t claim him. He has so many things going on in his mind to get a good shuteye.

 

“You dyed your hair.” Jisoo comments when Junhui doesn’t say anything. He nods then proceeds to ruffling the lilac strands over his forehead. His senior looks at his hair with an unreadable expression, and Junhui feels like he might’ve gone overboard with the new hair colour. After all, it’s against police protocol to have unnatural hair colour. In his defense, it’s part of the new identity thing. He needs to live up to the traits of the character he’s going to portray if he wants everything to work.

 

“I’ll be fine, hyung.” Junhui tries to say when the silent tension between them becomes a bit unbearable. Jisoo wasn’t convinced.

 

“I know what happened and you’re not fine right now.” The older male deadpans, and Junhui lowers his head sadly. He doesn’t argue, his mind unable to come up with something to say. Jongin must’ve been the one to break the news to Jisoo, since he’s the chief’s right hand man and they often share things with each other like the best of friends. He doesn’t look up but he could feel Jisoo’s pitied gaze on him, and it makes something unpleasant settle at the pit of his stomach.

 

Pity is not what he seeks right now.

 

“I will be fine, hyung.” Junhui repeats after what seemed like an eternity of silence. It’s a big fat lie of course. Nobody gets over a heartbreak just like that. He knows it’s gonna continue to haunt him for days, step on his emotions repeatedly until his heart is wrung dry. But he can’t let it show. He needs to deal with things bigger that his own problems, needs to prioritise the bigger picture.

 

Jisoo sighs. He’s never been the one to press on things until they budge. He calls it respect, not forcing others to see things in his own perspective. Junhui could count with one hand the moments Jisoo lost that ‘respect’. He was never such a pushy guy to begin with.

 

The older male takes out something from his coat and hands it to Junhui. A phone.

 

“I made sure it’s untraceable, don’t ask how.” Jisoo squeezes his hand momentarily before letting go. Junhui stammers for a bit, unsure of what he should say.

 

“If you want out or anything, call me. I’ll figure out something for you, Junhui, you know that.” Jisoo gives him a reassuring smile and Junhui just stands there motionlessly, the device in his hand feeling like a heavy block against his palm.

 

“Good luck Junhui.” He gets a pat on the back as Jisoo leaves his apartment without another word.

 

Junhui clutches the phone in his hand, fighting the desperate urge to run and chase after Jisoo.

 

He can’t back down.

 

  * ••



 

Mingyu takes the opposite direction as soon as they leave the train. No one could know they’re together, they’re gonna have to pretend like they’re strangers until they get inside Eclipse. It’s not how Junhui wants things to go but he can’t just ignore the fact that it reduces their chances of getting caught in the act.

 

He grabs a cab and rides to his new apartment, something cheaper and low-profile and fitting for someone who makes a living by selling his body. The woman in the reception welcomes him halfheartedly and gives him a short tour upstairs. He rejects the offer of being toured around his own room as he would like to have time for himself. The woman just shrugs and hands him his keys, reminds him to approach her downstairs if he’s got any concerns. As soon as she’s out the door he lets out a tired sigh.

 

He heaves his suitcase towards the bed and places it on the mattress. He starts unpacking and arranging his things in the small closet next to the nightstand. He does this at a convenient pace while humming a random tune to distract himself a bit.

 

He hangs the clothes that need to be hung and folds the clothes that need to be folded. He brought three other pairs of shoes: black boots, sneakers and a pair of women’s heels that he wants to burn down into ashes. He tried wearing the heels once and he barely even managed to take a step forward when he lands face first on the floor. Not really such a pleasant experience to recall.

 

He pulls out a pouch from his suitcase containing different kinds of makeup. Jeonghan gave it to him, saying Jongin bought it for him to use. Heaven knows the only type of makeup he ever uses is lip balm, so he’s gonna have to do a bit of research to figure out how to use everything in the pouch later. Settling the rest of his stuff on the night stand, he decides with a satisfied huff that he needs to take a shower.

 

  * ••



 

“This is him.” Minghao doesn’t acknowledge Soonyoung when he points at the man in front of him being held in place by two of his men. He has the urge to roll his eyes at Soonyoung because of course it’s gonna be ‘him’, since no one else in the big room is struggling against the grasps of two large men while being forced unto his knees. Said man had a bloody nose, disheveled damp hair, and a hideous black eye that he must have gotten after his futile attempts to escape. As soon as he spots Minghao standing a few meters away from him, his face contorts into a look of pure horror.

 

Minghao adjusts his sunglasses and approaches the struggling man. Soonyoung follows closely behind him as usual, both of them exuding powerful auras just as they should.

 

The way Minghao carries himself screams power and authority and fear, and he relishes in the reactions he gets from the people who cower at the sight of him. He likes how people tremble under his gaze, how they regard him highly not just because he’s a Xu but because he’s Xu Minghao, son of the fucking devil himself.

 

“I didn’t do it! I swear sir I swear!” The man exclaims, fear in his eyes and voice just like how Minghao wanted. He doesn’t react to the man’s pleas and instead turns to one of the men holding him down, silently demanding to fill him in with details.

 

“He stole about a quarter of the goods from last week’s shipment and sold them to someone else at a higher price claiming you instructed him to do so, Sir.” Minghao hums at this like he’s partly been expecting what the man would tell him, studies the accused’s face as he visibly pales in so much fear. He nearly laughs maniacally at how desperate the man looks, like a helpless animal caught in a trap.

 

“Please sir it wasn’t me! I swear I didn’t do it!” The man pleads again, and Minghao winces because he’s too damn loud and it’s still so early in the morning. At hours like these he should still be fast asleep in his penthouse and not fully dressed to deal with another minor treachery. Originally, it should be his father who must deal with these matters and not him, but ever since he turned 22 the unwanted burden has been passed down to him.

 

“It wasn’t you, you say?” Minghao asks, and the man stutters out his explanations like a child caught stealing from the cookie jar. Now, Minghao wasn’t exactly what you’d call a psychic, but just one look and he already knows that the man is lying. It’s either he’s just good at detecting lies or the man is just too obvious.

 

“I swear on my life, it’s not me! I wasn’t even there when the drugs came!” Minghao scoffs. This man must think he’s a gullible idiot that bends at the sight of tears. Well he’s not. Tears aren’t always real, he reminds himself.

 

“Where were you then?” He asks.

 

“I—” the man hesitates a bit and falls quiet, and that hesitation was enough for Minghao to confirm that he’s been lying. Seriously, everything is unraveling too easily for him that it makes him ask himself why exactly did he bother to waste his time to come to the warehouse at such an early hour. ‘Oh’, he thinks, remembering it was Soonyoung who brought him here saying there was an emergency he needed to attend to. The man really needs to be briefed about the things he should and shouldn’t consider ‘emergencies’.

 

“You can’t even come up with a good enough excuse to save yourself.” Minghao says, looking at the man like he’s nothing but filth beneath his shoes. It’s a look gives off with ease, a look that never fails to scare even the most confident people who dare defy him.

 

“Sir please—”

 

“Kill him.” He says nonchalantly, and everyone else inside the warehouse falls silent. They look at him with surprised and puzzled expressions, but he doesn’t want to bother justifying his decision. He just wants to get this over with. The man’s guilty of stealing from him, Soonyoung can back him up on that with facts, he always does. There’s really no use letting this drag on. Time’s to precious to spend on such minor matters and he needs to get more sleep.

 

The man starts screaming hysterically, flailing his limbs around in fruitless attempts of breaking free from the men restraining him. His voice rings around the whole warehouse and hurts Minghao’s ears. He winces in discomfort and nods shortly at Soonyoung before turning around to walk towards the exit. He barely made six steps when the sound of a loud gunshot rips through the whole room, followed by deafening silence. Without turning around, Minghao speaks.

 

“Send his head to the person he sold my drugs to.”

 

  * ••



 

Junhui looks at his own reflection with squinted eyes. He nods in satisfaction after a few moments when he confirms that he had applied the eyeliner properly on both his eyes and that he doesn’t look like absolute shit. Hi puckers his tint-smeared lips and cringes at the popping sound it makes. He’s gonna have to get used to it though if he doesn’t want to bust his cover.

 

He grimaces at his hair which was carefully styled back with the sticky hair gel that came along with his pouch of makeup. It doesn’t look awful if he were to be asked, it’s just that his forehead feels too bare and exposed for his liking. Another thing he needs to get used to.

 

For clothes, he doesn’t immediately go to the more daring ones provided to him by Jeonghan. After all, he’s just gonna meet his new boss—Park Chanyeol—for today. He settles for a black tank top and some ripped jeans, not exactly an ideal getup for a supposed slut. In his defense, he’s not yet ready for such things. He’ll just have to make do with his actions and gestures then if ever the situation calls for him to play his role.

 

Glancing at his own reflection for the second time, he frowns when his eyes land on the white bandage wrapped around his right arm. The damn thing ruined the whole look, as well as his so-so mood. Sighing a bit exasperatedly, he grabs a denim jacket from his closet and shrugs it on, trying as hard as he could to ignore the excruciating littleflashbacks playing in his head like a blatant mockery. He makes up a not-so-creative story and stores it at the back of his mind, just in case he takes off the jacket later and gets asked about what happened to the bandaged part.

 

He takes a cab and goes straight to Eclipse, application form in hand and a small shoulder bag slung over his shoulders for the few harmless essentials he decided to bring with him. As much as he tries not to, he finds what he’s doing a bit ridiculous. The procedures of getting into the Eclipse are a bit too formal for someone who’s gonna apply as an escort, requiring him of a biodata and all. Maybe that’s why the police has a hard time unraveling all the filth Eclipse is hiding, they somehow managed to make the business legal to the eyes of the public. It’s a good thing Jongin and Jisoo had everything carefully planned out, Junhui thinks gratefully as he clutches his fake application form tighter.

 

He mentally rehearses the things he has to do one last time, a rush of anxiety taking him over for a bit. He wills himself to relax, convinces himself that he can do it. He can’t let Jongin down, Jongin trusts him.This mission, should he succeed, promises the fall of several big identities in the underground community, improving the safety of the whole country and possibly the whole Asian continent. Junhui realizes how big of a role he’s playing, the pressure making him more determined and nervous at the same time.

 

The cab stops in front of a black and white building, the huge sign that says ‘Eclipse’ glaring back at Junhui in bold cursive letters. He walks towards the entrance and the security immediately lets him in as soon as he states his purpose for visiting even though the sun’s still up and scorching. He’s been instructed to proceed to the second floor and look for a man nicknamed ‘Butterfly’, and Junhui immediately knows that he’s Park Chanyeol’s right hand that Jongin mentioned both verbally and in his file.

 

The whole place is too quiet, save for the soft footsteps and murmurs from the few people walking around the area. Junhui guesses that they might be workers and confirms it when he sees a few of them carrying cleaning equipments. Probably to clean up the whole place before the night starts.

 

A few people turn to his direction and give him curious and weird glances, but other than that everything is peachy. He quietly heads towards the stairs right next to the large bar counter and tries to ignore how some of the people are looking at him like he’s a fresh piece of meat.

 

“Hey! Hey purple guy!” A cheerful voice breaks the tensioned silence and Junhui turns around to see a man wearing a black tube, high-waisted short shorts and red heels climb up the stairs to follow go after him. The said man stops right in front of Junhui and gives him a very bright smile, innocent and bubbly and not really matching with his current feminine getup.

 

“What are you doing here so early in the morning? Business starts at five.” Junhui was about to answer when the man’s eyes land on the application form hehas on his right hand.

 

“Oh, here to become a doll?” The man asks again, unnecessarily cheerful and bright that it irritates Junhui for a bit. He nods anyway, confirming the man’s question.

 

“I need to see Butterfly.” Junhui says. The man nods enthusiastically and suddenly links their arms together then starts dragging Junhui with him. Junhui winces when the man accidentally squeezes his wound, abruptly pulling away with a sharp gasp and surprising the guy in the process. He was about to apologise after being given a weirded out look when the man suddenly rolls his eyes mischievously and grabs his hand instead to continue dragging him as if nothing happened. Junhui stiffens, overly cautious and aware of the man’s movements if ever he dares to try something funny. He reminds himself that he should never let his guard down ever because out here there’s no one else to protect him but himself. He might be partners with Mingyu but the man obviously wouldn’t be around all the time to watch his back. Things like these ran into Junhui’s mind and preoccupied him for a bit until the guy spoke again.

 

“You’re lucky you ran into me! Butterfly-hyungie usually doesn’t like people visiting his office so early in the morning but since I’m one of his few favourites he might let you off this time!” The man blabbers excitedly, talking to Junhui like they’re such close friends already . Junhui doesn’t reply and simply listens to the man as he starts talking about how boring his mornings in Eclipse are and how ‘bland’ everything has been the night before.

 

“I’m Peach by the way,” the man says, grinning at Junhui like he’s trying to show off his pearly white teeth. Junhui gives back a small smile.

 

“I’m…Petal.”

 

  * ••



 

The room is cold, courtesy of the air conditioner located in the corner of the room which is probably on full blast. Junhui shivers a bit from where he stood, shoulders a bit too tense and posture a bit too erect. He feels like he’s an elementary pupil going up against the school principal, even if he has no clue who exactly is the man behind the desk.

 

“You’re scaring him, hyungie~” Peach kids next to him, but the man who he guesses is Butterfly doesn’t even react. Awkward silence immediately follows, and Junhui feels embarrassed on Peach’s behalf.  The guy was obviously attempting to brighten up the atmosphere but failed miserably because Butterfly looked like he wasn’t up for shit.

 

“I said I’m busy.” The man says, and Junhui notes how calm the tone of his voice sounded even though Junhui could clearly see his jaw clenching, obviously not pleased with the current situation. Junhui blames it on Peach literally kicking the door open and exclaiming ‘hola’ as he barged into the room with Junhui in tow earlier.

 

“Boss said you should always make time for new recruits hyung.” By boss, Junhui guesses Peach meant Park Chanyeol. As much as he tries to avoid being so obvious he wasn’t able to contain his reaction when the owner of Eclipse was mentioned, visibly perking up in attention. The man in the desk notices and he immediately scans Junhui from head to toe.

 

“You know Chanyeol?” Butterfly suddenly asks him, and Junhui almost sputters because he’s supposed to be calm and collected for crying out loud. He’s gotta have to work on that part or else his cover’s gonna be busted within a week.

 

He swears he had everything he needed to do and say thoroughly rehearsed and stored into his  memory, but with Butterfly looking at him like that, he’s suddenly having a mental block.

 

“I’ve heard of him.” Junhui sighs internally in relief because the answer came out naturally and he didn’t stutter. Butterfly nods thoughtfully and looks down at Junhui’s file which Peach had placed on the desk a few moments ago. He flips through the three long pages of carefully constructed fallacies, reading its contents with an indecipherable expression. Junhui’s torn between laughing and rolling his eyes for a moment. Everything is just like a real application process and it kind of amazes him that Butterfly is taking everything seriously as if he’s not hiring an escort.

 

“You’re hired.”

 

“Wait, what?” Junhui blinks rapidly. He must’ve heard it wrong. He’s hired? Just like that? Like…literally just like that?

 

“You are hired.” Butterfly articulates everything for Junhui, a slightly irritated expression on his face. With a sigh he closes Junhui’s file and runs his fingers through his hair, the strands looking so soft Junhui momentarily wonders how it would feel against his own fingertips. Without him knowing, his fingers twitch at his sides, also partly because of nervousness.

 

“I run a whore house, darling. I know which faces would make good money without having to look over  files which are obviously made up.” Junhui visibly tenses up at what Butterfly said. He panics internally, recalls his backup plans quickly and grows stiffer from where he stood. Less than half an hour in the man’s presence and he’s already determined that Junhui’s file is fake.

 

“Don’t worry. You’re not the first one to hand me over some made-up bull crap. Peach did the same.” Peach, upon being mentioned, just giggled in response as if it was nothing major. He then kids about Butterfly being such a softie on him despite the male never admitting it. Junhui knows he should’ve calmed down as well after Butterfly implied that he’s letting him off with the fake file, but unlike Peach who is completely…peachy about it, he’s not here just to become a whore and earn money. He’s a man—a cop—with a mission, and no one could really blame him if even the slightest problems or issues make him go uneasy. No one knows when his cover’s gonna get busted or not, making him feel like he’s constantly on edge. He doesn’t wanna fail Jongin.

 

“You’re not gonna ask me why I handed over a fake file?” Junhui asked before he could even tell himself that it was a dangerous question. Butterfly just looks back at him with an unreadable expression as he shrugs.

 

“Tell me in your own time, since you obviously wanted to keep it to yourself for now.” After saying that, he gives Peach a short glance and nods at him. Peach suddenly bows politely and leaves the room wordlessly, and the way his demeanour changed slightly alerted Junhui. When the door clicked shut, alarms started blaring inside his head because he’s currently inside a room with a man whose capabilities he has no idea of. Needless to say, he tenses up like a dear caught in the headlights.

 

“Now,” Butterfly stood up and made his way to the front of his desk. He casually leaned against it, staring Junhui down with a calculative gaze. Junhui forces himself to look as calm and as collected as he can manage. It was hard, with the way the other male is looking at him like he could see through all the walls Junhui has built around himself for this mission.

 

Junhui is noticeably taller by a few inches than the man standing before him, but Butterfly held himself equally high, chin up and whole demeanour confident. Junhui, without having to ask, could easily conclude that Butterfly is more than just a stunning face and lithe body. He could practically sense danger underneath the pores of the man. The thought made him shudder, because he knows in himself that his hunches are usually right.

 

“Tell me exactly why you came here.” Butterfly crosses his arms, raises an eyebrow at Junhui and waits patiently for an answer. The question wasn’t exactly that new and surprising, and Junhui couldn’t explain why he’s feeling the need to bolt out of the room. For all he knows, the question could be implying something else.

 

Despite that, he still answers the question with the words he has repeatedly rehearsed inside his mind.

 

“I need a good fuck and I need to earn money. College.” He explains shortly. He knows he mustn’t blabber too much or else he might risk blowing his cover. His gut is already screaming at him to be careful around Butterfly, and he has always been a believer of the credibility of gut feelings.

 

“College?” Butterfly asks again, the certain edge in his voice almost leading Junhui to believe that the man is interested in his college life. However, he wasn’t blind, and he could clearly see the look of disinterest in the other man’s eyes. It could be a good thing, since Junhui doesn’t really want eyes on him while he’s on this mission.

 

“Yeah. You know,” Junhui dares and puts all of his weight against one leg while resting a hand on his hip. It’s a lame attempt to appear as carefree and confident as Peach but he does it anyway so that Butterfly can’t see through him and know that he is feeling on edge and not in a good way. He’s nervous.

 

“Typical broke student desperate to pay rent and just graduate the fuck already.” He rolls his eyes for more dramatic effects, mentally thanking the time back in college when he took a theatre class out of pure impulse. At least he’s not so bad at acting, which is what he currently desperately needs if he wants to succeed on this mission.

 

“And you came here just because of that?” Junhui partially expected this question. He wasn’t too surprised, since a broke college student opting for prostitution like it’s the best option they’ve got is not really a common thing in the area. Luckily, he also rehearsed an answer for this question. Again, for dramatic effects, he scoffs.

 

“Believe me, I have tried applying for every single available job. Barista, waiter, janitor, you name it. Sadly, they’re not interested in a financially struggling ‘pretty little thing’—” he uses both hands to make invisible quotation marks, “—like me, and one of them even suggested that I should suck his dick and he might just reconsider, but of course that doesn’t offer reassurance that I’ll get a job since I’ll probably just end up being his personal sex slave judging by his sadistic and creepy looks. So after a few nights of sulking and contemplation, I realized that if that guy was willing to pay me for momentary pleasures, then—”

 

“For the love of whores, please stop talking.” Butterfly holds up a hand to stop him, lifting his other hand to pinch his nose bridge. Junhui hesitates for a bit, thinking he might’ve gone a bit overboard with his acting. Earlier he promised himself to talk less so that he won’t risk blowing his cover, but when the other male gave him the opportunity he just couldn’t stop talking. He badly needs to work on that part later.

 

“What’s your name?” Butterfly asks, a sudden change of topic but Junhui doesn’t point him out for it.

 

“Petal.” He answers almost immediately, causing the other male to scoff.

 

“Of course.” He rolls his eyes then proceeds to scanning Junhui from head to toe for the second time. The nervousness and anxiety are beginning to creep back to the Chinese male again, but he tries to appear as calm and composed as he could manage.

 

“You’re okay.” Butterfly nods thoughtfully to himself and looks away as if in deep thought. Junhui tries not to get so affected by the comment. He didn’t really waste so much effort for his new look just to be called ‘okay’, and while he definitely won’t have it any other day, he needs to get into the Eclipse. Swallowing down his pride, he gives the other male a small smile that hopefully looks genuine enough not to raise any suspicion.

 

However, before the other male could say anything else the door behind Junhui suddenly swings open, and in comes a man as tall as himself. He’s frowning, looking like someone or something just made his day miserable but as soon as his eyes land on Junhui, his expression softens then turns into a playful smirk within seconds.

 

“Well aren’t you a pretty sight—”

 

“Hands off, Tao.” Butterfly warns, and Junhui almost flinches at the intensity of the shorter male’s voice. Tao, however, doesn’t appear to be fazed up by the command and even takes a few steps closer until his standing right in front of Junhui.

 

“Lovely.” He whispers mostly to himself, but it was loud enough for the other two males to hear. His eyes shamelessly rake over Junhui’s entirety, and the cop could clearly see lust and want written all over his face.

 

While his mind registers that this man could possibly be very dangerous, judging from his face and physique and the gun strapped in his waist, his body moves on its own accord, a hand coming up to hold the other man’s chin between his fingers and a playful smile gracing his lips.

 

“Hello.” He whispers back, making sure to bat his eyelashes prettily at the newcomer.

 

“Wow. I like him, Baek. Can I keep him?” Before Junhui could fully comprehend the name Tao just used to address Butterfly, he feels an arm snake around his waist, pulling his body closer against Tao. He puts both hands on the man’s chest and looks back at him with an innocent look, but really, the hands are just there to put some sort of distance between them, just a front if ever he needs to push the man away.

 

“I’d rather you get your fucking hands off him. And it’s Butterfly for fucks sake.” Butterfly pulls Tao by his collar and separates him from Junhui. He gives Junhui a look which the Chinese male understands as a warning glare. He stills where he stood, not really sure how to react under the man’s stare.

 

“Go downstairs and find Peach. He’ll show you around.” Junhui gulps inaudibly and nods, turning around to reach for the doorknob.

 

“What’s his name, Baek?”

 

“Shut up.” Junhui stops just before twisting the knob, he turns his head and his eyes immediately meet Tao’s, the other male still wearing that dangerously playful smirk on his lips. He smirks back, asking himself where all of this confidence came from.

 

“It’s Petal.” He winks at Tao and before Butterfly could reprimand him for speaking out of turn, Junhui is already out the door.

 

As soon as he’s outside, he immediately looks around for some space he could hide in for a moment. The first thing he sees is the comfort room sign on the right and he nearly sprints his way to it. Once inside, he immediately leans against the door and lets out a shaky breath he didn’t know he was holding in the whole time he was inside Butterfly’s office. He cards his fingers through his hair while trying to even out his breathing pattern. Once he’s succeeded in doing so, he makes his way towards the sink, looks at his own reflection in the mirror and decides he at least still looks presentable.

 

He washes his hands just to feel cold water against his skin, lathers hand soap on his hands at a slow pace while staring blankly at himself through his reflection. He then looks around to examine the luxurious comfort room illuminated by purple neon lights.

 

_‘You look fucking pretty in this lighting.’_

_‘You think so?’_

“Fucking don’t,” Forgetting that he still has soap in his hands, Junhui grabs his hair with both hands and pulls the strands harshly until he could feel his scalp burn. He groans out of pain and frustration, his mind giving him unnecessary flashbacks of his first kiss with Minghao back at that random night club where they first met. It was on a comfort room with bright red neon lights, and it wasn’t the best setting but they somehow made the moment feel fucking perfect. Well at least that was how it felt for Junhui.

 

“Ugh shit.” He groans out again when he feels hot tears stream down his face uncontrollably. He rushes to the main door to lock it so no one could come in and see him in his pathetic state. He lets it all out quietly; the pain, the anger, the fear, the sadness. Hugging himself inside the cold space, he fails to keep the memories at the back of his mind as everything starts coming back again like a wicked infection that just wouldn’t go away.

 

  * ••



 

“Why are you here anyway? Did Chanyeol—“

 

“Aren’t you even gonna greet your bestest friend?” Tao smirks as he spreads his arms to his sides, an invitation for a hug. Butterfly just stares at him like he’s got a few screws loose and doesn’t approach him for the supposed hug. Tao feigns being hurt by clutching his chest and mouthing ‘ouch’ like a typically playful teen, except he isn’t a teen anymore. Butterfly, having gotten used to his antics by now, remained still where he stood, giving the other male a pointed look.

 

“Okay okay fine. Chanyeol sent me alright. He wanted you to see this.” And with that, Tao pulls out his phone from the back pocket of his pants and walks to where Butterfly is standing. When the shorter male lays his eyes on the screen, the usually uninterested orbs spark with interest before he squints at the device. A few seconds later and his serious look turned into a mischievous smirk.

 

“He’s pissed off, huh?”

 

“Very.” Tao confirms, tucking his phone back into his back pocket. He cranes his neck to the side, a hand coming up to scratch his nape. Butterfly knows that this is what the other male usually does when Chanyeol gets pissed off and lets him run random errands in the morning. Tao has never been the morning person kind of guy, but he does his job nonetheless because he had always been one of Chanyeol’s most loyal ‘dogs’.

 

He thinks back to the image Tao has shown him, wonders for the possible reasons why such incident took place when they have been quite careful about maintaining their neutral reputation in the black market. For all he knows, it could be a declaration of something close to war, which nobody wants. Not with who they’re up against, at least.

 

“I keep thinking it’s an invitation though. Like, they wanna meet with boss for a little chitchat—“

 

“That sounds fucking dumb—“

 

“Nothing’s dumb when it’s the Prince—“

 

“Great. You’re his fanboy now?” Butterfly rolls his eyes before settling back behind his desk. Tao doesn’t say anything against his remark and instead just looks back at him quietly. He leans against his chair and looks up at the ceiling with a long, tired sigh. It’s still so damn early in the morning and he’s already dealing with a possible threat from someone so powerful he could end their lives with the snap of his fingers like fucking Thanos. He lets out a humourless chuckle at the thought.

 

“I hope you’re right about your assumption.” Butterfly says before grabbing his phone on the desk. Tao gives him a confused look which quickly morphs into surprise when he sees Butterfly dial a very familiar number combination.

 

“You’re fucking crazy, Byun Baekhyun.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, it has been A VERY LONG WHILE SOBS SOBS.
> 
> I'm not even gonna try and explain why I was out for so long since they're all generic reasons anyway. Instead, I just hope you guys would appreciate(???) this chapter :))
> 
> It took me a while to finish this update, not because I poured a lot of effort but because the inspiration to write this chapter comes and goes like zOOM and WHaMM then pOOf! It took me a while to get that inspiration back and actually do something about it hahaha.
> 
> Welpp, without further ado, I present to y'all the fourth chapter of This Love We Have.
> 
> Happy reading! <3

_Where there is anger, there is always pain underneath.—Eckhart Tolle_

* * *

As soon as Junhui steps out the comfort room, he spots the man named Tao leaning against the railing in front of him. With his back turned against Junhui, he looks down at the entirety of The Eclipse’s interior while giving off an expression that can be categorized as somber. Junhui doesn’t know why, but he suddenly finds himself clearing his throat to get the man’s attention. Tao turns his head to look at him and gives him a lazy, boyish smile—the type of smile he probably uses to make people wanna worship him.

With all the fake confidence Junhui has, he makes his way towards the man, making sure to add an extra sway to his hips as he does so. He mentally congratulates himself when the other male rakes his eyes all over Junhui’s lithe body, lust evident in his eyes. He quietly prays he could keep up with the pretense long enough to get through _all of this._

“Petal, was it?” Tao asks.

“Yep, nice meeting you.” Junhui gives him an innocent smile and holds out his hand for a handshake. He then tries to act surprised when the other male kisses the back of his hand instead and breathes in his scent. As much as he wants to pull his hand away and leave, he stays still and reminds himself that he must live up to his newly assumed identity if he wants things to work out in his favor.

“Where the fuck have you been all my life?” Tao chuckles and lifts up a hand to caress the side of Junhui’s face. The cop tenses, but wills himself to relax against the touch—even attempting to familiarize it since he knows he signed up for more than just _this_. It didn’t prove to be such a difficult thing to do, since Tao surprisingly has warm hands. Too warm for someone who has probably murdered a lot of people in cold blood judging from the differing types of dangerous weapons strapped around his waist. Junhui tries not to stare too long though, he might give out some unwanted ideas. He doesn’t wanna look too curious and raise suspicion.

He just smiles and doesn’t answer the question directed at him. It’s still his second encounter with the man and he’s careful not to have him too entertained and interested in him. Judging by how he interacted with Butterfly a while ago in his office, he’s probably one of those people that have worked for Park Chanyeol for quite some time now since he could even call Butterfly by his real name and get away with it, which then implies that he must be someone important.

“Petal!” Their little moment was cut short when Peach made an appearance and clung unto Junhui’s uninjured arm with a very wide grin plastered on his face. Junhui observes the other male and notices that he had changed his outfit into a more…normal one. He’s wearing a simple white sweatshirt and denim pants along with a pair of boots, and honestly he just looks like an ordinary good-looking guy who roams the streets of Busan.

“Oh, hey Tao!” He waves enthusiastically at the other guy and Tao gives him the same boyish smile he gave Junhui just a while ago, but the cop notes how his gaze didn’t linger too long on Peach like it did on him. He must’ve stared a second too long because the moment Tao looks back at him, their eyes made contact, causing the man to smirk playfully at him for a reason Junhui is unaware of.

“Off somewhere?” Tao was obviously asking Peach, but his eyes were glued to Junhui as if he’s all he could see. Peach noticed this and let out a very playful giggle, way too playful for Junhui’s liking as he tugs at the lilac-haired male’s arm in an attempt to grab his attention.

“I’m meeting some old friends after I give him a tour around the place.” Peach beams, and Junhui was about to complain inwardly again about how lively the other male is, but then he remembers he used to be like that before…everything else happened. He ends up wondering if his colleagues felt the same towards him whenever he’s too happy and bubbly at work. But not wanting to succumb into sad memories again after just having calmed himself down in the comfort room a while ago, he clears his throat, effectively catching the attention of both males.

“Shall we get on with the tour?” He smiles and bows politely at Tao who just stares at him with a smile of his own. If Junhui feels a shiver run down his spine under the other male’s suddenly weird stare, he’s not gonna admit that to himself.

“It’s been a pleasure talking with you, mister—“

“Call me Tao.”

“Tao.” Junhui repeats, gives him one last smile before allowing himself to be dragged away by Peach who blows a flying kiss at Tao before pulling Junhui towards the stairs.

“He likes you.”

“I noticed.” Junhui shrugs, trying to sport a nonchalant persona this time. Peach just giggles at his lack of responsiveness and continues talking like he doesn’t mind Junhui being cold to him at all.

“He flirts with all the dolls here but he barely looks at anyone the way he looked at you. By the way, that’s the bar, and that one behind the red curtain’s the main stage where some dolls perform every night depending on their schedule or if there are any important events—“

“How does he look at me?” Junhui wants to hit his head against a post for asking such a question all of a sudden. So much for not wanting to appear too curious and raise suspicion.

Peach stops on his tracks to look at him. He raises a brow and puts a hand on his hip, giving Junhui a sly smile as if he knows what’s going on in Junhui’s mind. When the lilac-haired male starts to feel uneasy under the scrutinizing gaze of his companion, Peach suddenly speaks.

“He looks at you like he wants to devour you.”

***

“You’re so fucking tactless.” Was the first thing Chanyeol says when Butterfly enters his office after he called for the male’s presence. He heard from Tao about what Butterfly did and couldn’t help but feel frustrated at the male for deciding on something without his consent.

“I did what I had t—“

“Shut the fuck up, Baekhyun. This isn’t what I wanted—“

“You wanted to get into The Prince’s good graces and hopefully set a deal with him, I just gave you a head start.” Baekhyun cuts him off with a sharp glare and even sharper statement that had Chanyeol gripping his phone tightly to the point that his fist is turning white.

“You need this. Don’t even fucking lie and say you don’t.” Baekhyun says like it’s a simple matter of fact—which it is. Chanyeol looks away and pinches the bridge of his nose, willing himself to calm down before he does something they’d both regret later. With a very deep sigh he looks back at Baekhyun, at the only person in this entire continent that he’d entrust his life to should the need to do so arise. He looks at Baekhyun with a puzzled expression on his face. Most times he really has no clue what goes on in the other male’s mind, and he knows better than to ask. Baekhyun never explains to him why he does what he does, all he ever says is,

“Trust me, Chanyeol. I know what I’m doing.”

And Chanyeol does exactly that. Even though he doesn’t say it out loud, he trusts Baekhyun a whole damn lot, which is scary enough in itself. Trust is a fragile thing in the world they live in, yet he’s giving all of his trust to Baekhyun like a willing sacrifice.

Baekhyun gives him a grin, and Chanyeol knows the little devil is congratulating himself for getting exactly what he wants from him for the nth time.

“Well, if that’s all you called me here for, I’ll be taking my leave. Business starts in three hours and I need to set the whole place—“

“I do hope you _really_ know what you’re doing this time, Baek. This isn’t like one of those—“

“Darling, you worry yourself too much.” Baekhyun chuckles and reaches over to ruffle Chanyeol’s hair, causing the male’s eyes to widen in mild surprise. Seems like Baekhyun is currently in a pretty good mood—a big contrast to what Chanyeol currently feels. If only the shorter male would explain to him the things he currently has in mind, then he probably won’t be so nervous about all of this right now. The shorter male is keeping most things to himself, unfairly keeping Chanyeol in the dark when in the first place he should be the one in control.

“I got this.”

***

The tour around the whole building ends up with Junhui pressed against the wall of a secluded comfort room in the second floor with Peach in between his trembling legs, sucking him off like it’s the last thing he’ll ever do. Junhui had tried numerous times to push the other male away but the way Peach digs his blunt nails on the smooth skin of his thighs and the way that fucking mouth does things to him made him completely weak and pliant way too easily that it’s almost comical.

He breathes through his nose, tries his best to stay quiet though pitiful whimpers and whines occasionally escape his lips. His reactions seem to motivate Peach who takes him into his mouth deeper this time, swallowing around him and picking up the pace of bobbing his head back and forth. When Junhui reaches his orgasm, he puts a hand over his own mouth to keep himself from letting out a very loud and lewd moan while the other grabs a fistful of Peach’s hair to keep him from making any more movements. He hasn’t come down from his high yet, but he already regrets letting the other male have his way with him just like that. Alarms are blaring inside his head as he tucks himself back in his briefs and watches Peach get up to look at him in the eyes with a very sultry expression.

“When I saw you walk in the main entrance earlier, all I could think of was _wow, he’s sooo pretty_.” Junhui gulps audibly but doesn’t say anything in return, brain still trying to comprehend what the fuck happened just now. He visibly flinches when Peach reaches over to smooth the stray strands of lilac hair from his forehead, the same sultry expression dominating his features.

“Think of this as my welcome gift to you.” Junhui gawks at Peach when the other male suddenly switches back to his bubbly and bright persona as if he wasn’t sucking the sanity out of Junhui just a few moments ago.

“Welcome to The Eclipse, Petal.” And with that, Peach leaves him glued to the wall like an absolute dumbass.

“I hope you enjoy your stay!” He hears the male say outside before the sound of his footsteps disappears completely. And like a very cliché scene from the movies, Junhui’s legs give out and he falls on the floor while staring at nothing in particular. He recalls what happened just now, as well as the rest of today’s events.

“Hah…” He can’t even bring himself to laugh at his own situation and everything else. All that would come out of him were heavy breaths of panic and regret and unexplainable fear.

***

“Call me Gyu.” Mingyu says for probably the 20th time already. He’s currently surrounded by the other securities inside a room, their attentions directed at him alone.

Everyone’s been trying to ask him for his real name ever since he got inside and introduced himself as a newbie, and he always tries to turn them down as politely as he could manage although his patience is wearing thin. One of the older securities, he presumes, drapes an arm around him and tells him to loosen up and just ‘give his damn name’ already, and he mentally prays for the gods up above to give him more patience because he might just get himself in trouble on the very first day.

“Knock it off asswipes. Give the man some space geez.” Everyone snaps their heads to the direction of the door where a tall man(not as tall as Mingyu though) suddenly speaks and grabs their attentions. To the tall male’s surprise, everyone rose up from their seats, stood erectly and greeted the man a good afternoon with modulated voices like they’re some cadets or something. The new arrival just rolls his eyes at them then proceeds to focus his attention on Mingyu who felt like he had to pay his respects just like how everyone did so he bowed a full ninety degrees. He heard some of his companions snicker behind him and he feels like wanting the ground to swallow him whole due to embarrassment. He clearly shouldn’t have done that.

“I said fucking knock it off! Fucking idiots.” Mingyu felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Rise.” And so he did, he made eye contact with the man and if he felt very intimidated by the man’s presence and proximity, he’s not gonna say that out loud.

“I’m Tao, I’m basically head of the security department in here. And you are?”

“Gyu.” Mingyu answers with a voice just loud enough for the two of them to hear.

“Fucking speak up when I’m talking to you, kid.” Tao sort of growls at his face, and Mingyu clenches his fist just to keep himself from reacting unpleasantly.

“It’s Gyu, sir.” He says it louder this time, loud enough to be heard from outside the room. Tao hums, apparently pleased by Mingyu’s response. He then proceeds to giving Mingyu a once-over, nodding to himself as if what he sees is up to his standards.

“Welcome to The Eclipse.” Tao grins at him in a cocky, boyish manner. Mingyu gulps audibly first before thanking the man for his greeting. And just like that, Tao turns around and leaves the room quietly. Mingyu hears some of the securities sigh in relief before things went back to normal and the questions regarding his real name started again.

 _This is gonna be a fucking long day,_ Mingyu thinks to himself.

***

Junhui’s currently sitting in the dressing room with the other dolls, fixing his own hair and makeup. The atmosphere is quiet and awkward, and Junhui knows it’s because of his presence. Looking at the mirror, he could see some of them giving him curious and weird glances from time to time as they pretend to be busy minding their own businesses. He tries his hardest to ignore them and focus at the task at hand: to make himself look like the qualifications of a doll in The Eclipse.

Having no one to talk to, he kinda wishes Peach had stayed, but the little moment they had at the comfort room an hour ago made him take back his thoughts with a frown. With a sigh he picks up the eyeliner and almost stabs himself in the eyeball while trying to apply it on his lower lash line.

“Need help?” Junhui looks at his reflection on the mirror. A man is currently sanding behind him, smiling sweetly at him through their reflections. He looks at Junhui expectantly, and it takes the lilac-haired male a few more seconds to realize the question was directed at him.

“I hope you don’t mind.” He smiles sheepishly and hands the eyeliner to the male who immediately occupies the seat next to him and cups his face, pulling him closer.

“I’m Darling.” The man says in a voice that’s so gentle and kind, Junhui thinks he chose the perfect nickname for himself. He handles Junhui’s face with soft and delicate movements, and he has this cute smile on his face that’s giving off a _motherly_ vibe.

Junhui must’ve stared too long because by the time he gained his senses back, Darling was already done not only with his eyeliner but with his whole makeup. He stammers out a ‘thank you’ before looking at his face in the mirror.

“Wow.” He breathes out. The makeup, in simpler words, looks really good on him.

“Thank you.”

“It’s no big deal.” He feels a pat on his shoulder before Darling stands up.

“See you around then.” He gives Junhui one last smile before he leaves.

Junhui looks at his reflection in the mirror once again, admiring how the eye shadow and everything else makes him look like a whole new version of himself that he never thought would be a reality. Initially, he was definitely impressed with Darling’s work on his face, but then he remembers why he currently looks like this, why he’s here, and what his purpose is. He sighs as he stares back at his own reflection, reminds himself that he’s a man with a mission and that his mission needs to succeed in order to bring justice for everyone. He can’t let himself lose focus on that goal, there’s too much at stake and too much time and effort Jongin invested in this case just for him to fail. He can’t let that man down.

***

“You’re tense.”

“Obviously.” Chanyeol rolls his eyes at Baekhyun who just chuckles at his sarcastic response. They’re currently inside one of the private rooms of The Eclipse, waiting for the arrival of The Prince whom Baekhyun had contacted earlier due to a possible misunderstanding.

Baekhyun watches hopelessly as Chanyeol pretends to be fine. He knows the man well enough to know that he’s already freaking out on the inside. He doesn’t say anything though, he just lets the man convince himself that he’s got things under his control.

There’s static noise on Baekhyun’s earpiece that was soon replaced by the bored tone of Tao’s voice.

“They’re here.” He supplies shortly.

“Good. And our dolls?” Chanyeol looks at him with surprised and bewildered eyes, silently asking why the fuck are their dolls being included in a supposedly formal meeting. Baekhyun resists the urge to roll his eyes and runs a hand over Chanyeol’s thigh, rubbing the fabric of his slacks slowly to offer some sort of comfort.

“Trust me,” he mouths at the taller male with a sickeningly sweet smile. Chanyeol clenches his jaw doesn’t say anything and simply looks away. Baekhyun takes what he can get.

“We’re passing by the foyer now.” Tao’s voice interrupts, hushed and quick like the soft sound of his exhales with every step he’s taking.

“Calm down, you pussy.” Baekhyun teases in an attempt to lighten up the mood. Knowing Tao, he always has a snarky reply ready for remarks like these.

“Shut your fuck, Byun Baekhyun. Just fucking wait till I fucking get my hands on you and show you who’s the real pussy—“ With a roll of his eyes, Baekhyun takes off the earpiece, dismissing the rest of Tao’s weightless string of threats. They sit quietly for another minute until the door opens and reveals The Eclipse’s security department head wearing a huge scowl on his face that’s somehow comparable to a pouty, bratty child. He mouths ‘fuck you’ at Baekhyun before standing on Chanyeol’s right side. As if on cue, they rise from their seats when _he_ enters the room, bowing ninety degrees and greeting him with such robotic voices that it could already pass as funny.

The Prince barely spares them a glance and immediately takes the seat Chanyeol has gestured for him to take, grabbing one of the doll escorts—Darling, Baekhyun notes as he briefly exchanged glances with the doll—and pulling him on his lap. He sighs, sounding rather bored, while running a hand over Darling’s exposed thigh. The doll keens at the attention just like he should, and Baekhyun mentally praises himself for the initiative of having three dolls welcome The Prince upon his arrival. The other two—Ruby and Cherry—sit by the foot of The Prince’s chair waiting prettily and patiently for the man to give them attention as well.

It’s not the first time Chanyeol and Baekhyun encountered The Prince, but it’s the first time having the man _this close_ to them and surrounded by _one of their own_ , so no one could really blame the two if they stared at him a little too long before gathering themselves and finally getting down to business.

***

Mingyu clutches his shirt as he locks himself inside a bathroom stall. He makes sure no one else is inside before letting out a loud sigh of relief. He mentally slaps himself for running off like the coward he shouldn’t be after seeing Junhui’s ex boyfriend enter The Eclipse’s vicinity through the back door, accompanied by a dozen armed men that didn’t even go through the inspection area to deposit their weapons as the establishment’s protocol demands.

He knows what happened between his friend and Minghao, knows the real identity of the guy _and_ hates that he only knew about it when everything already turned shit, but it’s still different seeing things for himself up close, and he swears if he wasn’t fast enough Minghao might’ve seen him. This mission would’ve been over before it even started.

Thinking about it now, Minghao looks _very different_ from the last time he saw him. Appearance-wise, he looked like some regal entity whose presence commoners like him didn’t deserve, clad in his all-black outfit, fingers adorned with rings and ears filled with more piercings than Mingyu thinks is _legal_. He wasn’t smiling like how he usually did around Junhui whenever he and Wonwoo hung out with the pair, he just looks blank and apathetic to what’s going on around him. The fact that The Prince is the same man Junhui claimed to have stolen his heart makes something unpleasant stir inside Mingyu’s gut, the conclusion of it all being that Junhui didn’t deserve all of this.

In a haste and with trembling hands(out of fury or fear or both, he doesn’t know), he grabs his phone from his pocket and dials Junhui’s number. It took him four dials to conclude that Junhui doesn’t have his phone with him at the moment, and that he has to go out there to get to the other cop to warn him personally about what’s going on.

He doesn’t think much about it when he exits the restroom to head to the dolls’ dressing room, so he fails to notice a pair of narrowed eyes following him as his tall figure disappears amongst the piling crowd on the dance floor.

***

Junhui swears he’s cool, convinces himself his palms don’t feel clammy because of nervousness. So far he’s doing good at making himself think he can handle all this, until another doll calls for the rest of them to ‘get this night started’, whatever that means to them.

Wanting to seem like he fits in, he follows the rest of the dolls closely, mimics their movements from the sensual sway of their hips to the sultry smile on their lips. They scatter around the place quickly, easily making their ways to clients that all look like they frequent here to spend dirty money on drinks and whores. It takes a lot of Junhui’s willpower not to gag and visibly show his displeasure.

He doesn’t know what to do, if he’s being honest. Does he look for a client, or do the clients come to him while he waits prettily and awkwardly by the bar counter? He scans the place, trying to be discreet about it. Everything feels so weird and new to him, and it’s not even his first time stepping inside a club. Maybe the idea of _working_ in a club is what perplexes him most.

“You look new.” Junhui snaps his head to the side and locks gazes with a man that looks like he’s in his late thirties. He gives Junhui a once over and the cop tries hard not to shiver under his gaze. The man smirks, seemingly pleased with what he sees. He offers out a hand and tells Junhui to call him Mister Lee. Junhui takes the hand shyly like a teenage girl interacting with her crush for the first time, and that seems to do the trick because Mister Lee grins at him wolfishly while snaking an arm around his waist without a warning. Junhui’s breath hitches and he hopes the man didn’t notice. He forces out a pretty smile and tries to comfort himself by thinking of the reason why he’s here and why he’s doing this _again._

_Blend in._

_Gather intel._

_Help the good guys bring the bad guys down._

_You’re doing this for the country._

_Remember you took a fucking oath._

_Don’t let everyone down._

Momentarily losing himself in his own thoughts, Junhui blinks in surprise when a glass of liquor is being placed in front of him. He looks at Mister Lee and the older man just smiles at him, his grin nowhere near gentle and kind. Junhui’s brain immediately supplies that he must be careful around the man and with everyone else in here for that matter, although it’s kinda useless now that he’s allowed the said man into his personal space within the span of thirty seconds.

“Go on,” Mister Lee nudges him to take the glass and Junhui hesitates. He remembers an old reminder from his mother to not accept candy from a stranger. This moment kinda feels like that to him.

“I’m sorry, I—“

“I insist.” Junhui doesn’t fail to notice how the man’s grip on his waist tightens, as if he’ll crush Junhui’s hipbone if he rejects him the second time. Junhui, a little annoyed, thinks about how easy it would be to knee the man in the groin right now and have his filthy hands off him, but he reminds himself that he mustn’t make a scene. He mustn’t stand out here if he wants things to work in his favor. It’s his first night as an official employee of The Eclipse and he wants to start it nicely and work his way to everyone’s trust.

So he forces out a sweet smile and takes the glass from Mister Lee’s hand, says thank you and downs the drink in one go.

***

“Why would you even think I’m interested with working with people who fuck up such basic transactions?” Chanyeol feels his jaw tick. Xu Minghao is so arrogant and snarky and smart, and he just feels like a complete fool under The Prince’s gaze. He clenches his fists over his lap, schools his face into a nonchalant expression despite the blood in his veins boiling. He could tell by the look Minghao’s giving him that the other male could see through his façade, and if only Baekhyun wasn’t rubbing his thumb in circular motions over the fabric of Chanyeol’s slacks, Chanyeol would’ve already lost it.

Now’s not the time for it but he thinks about his father, how the man always saw him as the weak boy who’s too much of a coward for almost _everything_. He thinks of the all too familiar look of disappointment on the old man’s face whenever he fucks things up, thinks back to the time the old man told his business partners that if given the chance, he’d choose another heir instead of the one he has now. Recalling all these things makes his hands tremble from rage and pain, and that is certainly not what he needs right now.

“Both sides fucked up.” Chanyeol’s head quickly snaps to look at Baekhyun who speaks out of turn. Everyone’s attention is now directed at Butterfly, who looks as calm despite the stinging tone of his voice.

“Don’t act like we’re the only ones who got played here.” Chanyeol stiffens from where he sits when he sees Butterfly give The Prince a challenging glare. He’s not even discreet about it, and Chanyeol’s heart races at the idea of Minghao taking offense on the doll’s words and reacting unpleasantly.

When Baekhyun said he’s got this, Chanyeol didn’t think things would end up like this.

“Butterf—“

“Touché, but I wasn’t talking about that.” Minghao smiles at Butterfly, and Chanyeol feels the doll tense up under Minghao’s gaze. It’s almost comical, how easily Minghao could affect all of them with just a simple look from his dangerous eyes. Just a moment ago, doll seemed brave enough to face the man. Now he’s just as stiff as Chanyeol, and that was fast.

His gaze turns to Chanyeol, and though his smile is surprisingly soft, the look in his eyes isn’t.

“You’re too tense and shaky to be handling things like these, don’t you think?” Chanyeol couldn’t answer back. In just a span of ten minutes, Minghao has already seen through him like he’s known Chanyeol half of his life. That idea alone scares the shit out of him.

“You’re weak.” Minghao drops the bomb like he’s just dropping by to say hi.

“I’m not.” Chanyeol says back through gritted teeth, wanting to shout back the words but Minghao’s entirely right, he’s too weak to do so.

“This whole conversation says otherwise.” Minghao cranes his neck to the side, looking so bored and uninterested. He pushes Darling off him to stand, and Chanyeol panics. He knows word about him calling for a meeting with The Prince will reach his father soon, and he doesn’t want to come home telling the man he failed yet again to secure a partnership with one of the most powerful men in the whole Asian continent. He rises up to his own feet too fast for his own liking, and Minghao raises his eyebrows at him like he already knows what Chanyeol has to say next. The tall male takes a deep breath.

“I—“

“Sir,” The door suddenly swings open and a man with striking blonde hair steps in and rushes to Minghao’s side.

“Forgive me for interrupting, but..” The rest of what he has to say is whispered into Minghao’s ears. They watch the way The Prince’s lips twitch at the newfound information, but other than that his expression remains the same: bored and uninterested. After the exchange, he gives the blonde man a small nod and dismisses him with a wave of his hand. He then turns to Chanyeol with the same dangerous gaze he’s been wearing ever since the whole talk started.

“You’re weak, but if I’m being honest, your offer is quite nice.” He smiles, the tone of his voice seeming like that of a child’s, but everyone in the room knew better than to fall for it. Chanyeol nods, a sort of misplaced gratitude settling at the pit of his stomach after hearing Minghao’s remark. He knows he shouldn’t feel too thankful just yet, but he simply can’t help it. Just a few seconds ago, he thought he already blew off his chance.

“So before I agree to all of this, I’d like to have a look around the place first.”

“Of course.”

***

Mingyu panics when he finds the dressing room empty, except for one doll who squeaks in surprise when he swings the door open while he was in the process of changing into a new set of clothes. He mutters a small apology before closing the door and retracing his steps back into the dance floor. The neon lights and wild bodies aren’t helping as he squints for any mop of lilac hair around the whole place. He grabs his phone and dials Junhui’s number again. After dialing the second time, he hisses in annoyance when the other cop doesn’t pick up the call.

“Hey Gyu!” Mingyu whips around to spot a guy with same uniform as his approaching him. He had a hard look on his face, as if looking at Mingyu pisses him off.

“Aren’t you supposed to be guarding your own post?”  The guy asks, a hand on his hip and an eyebrow raised cockily while he acts like he’s Mingyu’s superior. Mingyu’s mind is too preoccupied to be pissed off at something so trivial so despite his pride screaming at him, he concedes with a small bow.

“I’m sorry. I’ll head there right now.” He says quickly before turning around to leave, ignoring when the guy attempts to call him back.

He makes a beeline towards his designated post, eyes scanning his surroundings like a hawk for any sign of Junhui. He’s graced with nothing, and his panic escalates.

What if Junhui already encountered Minghao? What if Minghao did something to him? What if they get discovered as undercover cops? This could jeopardize not only their mission but the entire police force in general and merely picturing it out settles unpleasantly on Mingyu’s gut.

***

Junhui doesn’t remember anything when he regains his consciousness. With a groan he tries to sit up from the bed he’s currently lying on. His head is throbbing like a bitch for some unknown reason, so he lifts both hands to massage his temples in an attempt to ease the pain a bit.

“Of all the things you could’ve done.” He gasps out loud and immediately freezes when he sees a figure sitting at the edge of the bed, sharp eyes seeming like they’re trying to dig holes into his skull. Words get stuck in his throat, and suddenly breathing was so hard to do. Next comes the stinging feeling in his eyes which he recognizes as tears threatening to spill.

“A whore, huh?” Minghao raises his brow at Junhui, and Junhui immediately backs up against the headboard, whacking his memory for some sort of explanation on how he got himself into this situation. Sadly, the last thing he could remember was that old man at the bar counter approaching him before offering him a drink and— _oh._

“What do you want?” Junhui hisses at Minghao, surprising himself with his own hostility. He knows he should be cowering in fear or at least panicking right now. It’s just his first night on his undercover mission and he’s already encountered the man he’d prefer never to see for the rest of his life. But he feels none of that. Instead, anger boils inside his chest and radiates off him in waves. In an instant, the mission is thrown out of the window and everything becomes personal.

“What do I want?” Minghao scoffs, adjusting his coat as he stares back at Junhui with an unwavering gaze. He doesn’t answer the question but pulls out a knife from his coat instead. Junhui gasps as Minghao traces the sharp blade across his stocking-covered leg, the cold metal sending shivers across his whole body. He retracts his leg immediately, disgusted at the fact that the gesture flustered him a bit.

“Stay the fuck away from me.” His voice cracks and he curses himself for it. He’s already weak as it is, a prey in the presence of a predator. Minghao could easily slit his throat with that knife if he wishes to do so, and just like that Junhui could die quietly as a disappointment to himself and to others.

“No need to be so hostile, darling—“

“Don’t fucking call me that!” Minghao’s toying with him, he’s sure of that part. And the fact that he’s letting it get to him is so pathetic that he almost wants to laugh at himself. He reminds himself that Minghao is dangerous, that this is all dangerous, that his whole career as a cop probably ends tonight with Minghao revealing his identity to The Eclipse. But then one look at the other male’s eyes and his resolve quakes a bit.

“Oh, they don’t call you that in there, right?” Minghao chuckles like all of this is just like one of those random conversations they used to share in Junhui’s apartment. Junhui clenches his fist, he wants to tell Minghao to just shut up and go.

“I heard one of them call you Petal. _Petal_.” Minghao says the nickname twice as if testing how it would feel in his tongue. Junhui looks away, and when he does, he remembers Mingyu. He has half a mind to ask Minghao about Mingyu but he couldn’t risk it. He just hopes he’s the only one Minghao spotted in The Eclipse this evening. He silently prays for Mingyu’s safety, momentarily forgetting about his own.

“This is fucking ridiculous.” Minghao suddenly laughs humorlessly, running his fingers through his hair like what he usually does whenever something pisses him off. Or at least, that’s what Junhui picked up as one of his habits during the time they were together.

“What are you up to, Jun?” Minghao suddenly asks, his eyes sharp and focused as he waits for Junhui to answer. They both know it’s a very stupid question to ask, and this time it’s Junhui’s turn to laugh humorlessly.

“You’re seriously asking me that fucking question.” He shakes his head, finding all of this ridiculously absurd. He was in the middle of his lifeless laugh when Minghao suddenly closes the distance between them and grabs him by the neck with one hand, fingers gripping so hard that Junhui feels the other male’s nails dig into his skin.

“You won’t succeed, whatever this is you plan to achieve.” Minghao whispers so close to his mouth, and when Junhui tries to squirm away the knife is pointed threateningly close to his ribcage. He breathes hard through his nose, struggles to give Minghao his most defiant look. He acknowledges that he’s scared but he tries his best not to let it show.

“Stay the fuck away from me, from _my_ world.”

“You..c-can’t tell me shit, you fuck.” Junhui chokes out the words, and Minghao’s grip on his neck tightens. His head starts to spin as he weakly grabs at the other male’s wrist and tries to push him away. He’s struggling, and he blames it on whatever drug that old man used on him. He can’t even get his limbs to function properly for crying out loud. He feels heavy and tired, and his muscles feel like mush.

“What?” Minghao asks, a dangerous glint in his eyes as he brings his face closer to Junhui’s. The cop grits his teeth and closes his eyes. He can’t bear to look at Minghao right now, not with all these damned memories coming back to him when he doesn’t need them. The fact that this is the same Minghao who used to look at him like he's the world's most beautiful treasure drives him insane.

“Fuck you.” He hisses. Minghao releases his grip and runs his hand through his hair again, a breathy laugh escaping his lips. He looks at Junhui, then at the wall to his right, then back at Junhui. He looks like he has a lot of things to say, and Junhui has half a mind to provoke him to speak up, but he’s still quietly recovering from how he nearly got choked to his death a few moments ago.

“You’ll regret this.” Is the last thing Junhui hears before Minghao literally knocks him out.

***

“Sir.” Soonyoung immediately approaches Minghao as soon as the other male steps out of the room. Before the door completely closes, he spots Junhui still lying unconscious on the bed. He looks at his boss questioningly, and Minghao does the same.

“Where is he?” He asks quietly, and Soonyoung immediately knows he’s pissed. He tries not to think of the reason but then his mind supplies him with mental images of lilac-colored hair. The bodyguard clears his throat before answering.

“Down the basement—“

“Kill him.”

Soonyoung hesitates. He looks at Minghao quizzically and waits for him to take back his words. When the other male doesn’t say anything else, Soonyoung nods in understanding and turns around to leave.

Working for Minghao, it’s not unusual for The Prince to suddenly give out orders that may seem too rash and make no sense to others but end up being the ‘right choices’. Minghao's mind works in a different caliber, and most of the timeno one could quite figure out what goes on inside his head.

Instead of questioning, the best option is to always _comply._ Soonyoung knows that, but it doesn't mean the questions and hesitations leave his mind when he goes and does his job.

Take right now for example. Minghao's ordering him to kill a seemingly harmless old businessman just because he saw the man taking advantage of a very drugged…what was his name again? _Junhui,_ right. They saw the old man taking advantage and sexually harassing an undercover cop in one of The Eclipse’s comfort rooms. Minghao had ordered him to take the old man and bring him to the Xu Manor after he practically sent him flying across the other side of the bathroom.

Everyone held their breaths in genuine surprise when The Prince suddenlylifted a half-conscious, drugged lilac-haired doll in his arms and walked out the bar without another word. Soonyoung had to come up with a not-so-creative lie when he meets the curious eyes of the bar’s owner.

“He's The Prince’s ex.” He remembers saying with a hesitant smile. Minghao's gonna be mad at him for sure. The Prince isn't really fond of having ‘outsiders’ know about his personal…acquaintances.

“They sort of ended things in a… _nasty_ manner.”

***

“Boss wants him dead.”

A nod.

A terrified scream.

A gunshot.

Silence.

Soonyoung stays up in his room that night, finishing off almost the whole box of cheap cigarettes he intended to make last for the next month.

He thinks of The Prince, of Junhui, of many other things that came along just by thinking of those two.

He ends up emptying the whole box.

***

It takes two rings before a familiar voice greets him from the other line.

(Hello—)

“I thought I told you to report _everything_ to me.” Minghao seethes, anger barely contained as he downs the remaining whiskey in his glass in one gulp.

(I did—)

“You didn't fucking tell me about Junhui.” He hisses, composure evidently wavering as he thinks back to the scene he witnessed back in that comfort room at The Eclipse. He lets out a humorless laugh.

Life's trying to play jokes on him again.

(I forgot—)

“I didn't fucking keep you alive to give me this bullshit.”

(I'm sorry.) The other line falls quiet.

“This is the last time I'll allow any fuck-ups from you.” Minghao ends the call and tosses his phone on his bed.

He ruffles his hair and paces around his bedroom for a bit. He places the shot glass on his nightstand and ends up chucking it against the door a minute later, the shards littering the floor.

Junhui being back in the picture right after getting him out of it just complicates things a bit for Minghao, and he's always liked doing things simply and accurately.

It's not really that complicated if you think about it. He could easily have Junhui gone with just the snap of his fingers, and things would flow smoothly again. The Xu’s always get what they want.

But the thing is, it's _Junhui._

Minghao laughs again, the unhappy sound of it filling his room.He lies on the bed and stares up at the ceiling, mind doing a little recap of how his whole day went. For some unknown reason, his mind focuses on the part where he saw Junhui in that dim comfort room, some old man’s tongue lapping at his throat and big rough hands caressing the skin underneath his shirt while he squirms defenselessly.

“Wen Junhui,” he grits his teeth, frustration making him see red.

“Wen fucking Junhui.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, um, well...that happened.
> 
> I'll try my best to respond to any reactions(calm or violent) in the comment section so please let me know your thoughts about this chapter :))
> 
> Also, we got three(did I count it right or...) 'mystery' identities now:  
> 1\. Peach ("OMG HE GAVE JUNJUN A BLOW-" yes I know that happened please don't attack me)  
> 2\. Darling ("OMG HE SAT ON MINGHAO'S LAP WILL HE GET IN BETWEEN THE JUNHAO-" please don't jump into conclusions like that because I may be a sucker for cliches but I'm trying to not be 'that' predictable dhakhfhjadh)  
> 3\. That one pokemon Minghao called while he angeryyy
> 
> Can you try and guess their identities? I'd love to know who you guys think these characters are :)) And if one of you gets the right answer maybe we could um...discuss the prize or something hahahahbhwjbwj
> 
> Okay, that's all for now and have a good day! <3

**Author's Note:**

> So uhh...yeah. That's chapter one there for y'all :/ Please let me know about your thoughts on the comment section.
> 
> Oh, and another thing, I have a tendency of deleting negative and harsh comments because I would like to avoid unwanted arguments as much as possible(it may not look like it but I have a very weak heart when it comes to matters like this). However, I am well aware that some of those comments definitely make good points so rest assured that though I delete them I acknowledge their opinions.
> 
> Not that you're asking, but my twitter accounts are @incorrectjunhao and @kiraraluuu in case you wanna connect with me(?) and b-b-b-be FrIeNnDdDsS :"D
> 
> That's all folks! Good day! :-*


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